The purpose of this publication is to document important traffic safety information and data on a state by state basis for use by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) headquarters and regional personnel, and the state traffic safety community in general. The information is current as of January 1, 1998. We plan to publish these fact sheets on an annual basis.
The data on traffic fatalities were obtained from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) which is maintained by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA). Vehicles Miles Traveled (VMT) were obtained from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Fatality Rates per VMT are expressed in fatalities for every 100,000,000 vehicle miles traveled. Population data were obtained from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Fatalities per population are expressed in fatalities for every 100,000 population. The latest data available currently is for the year 1996.
The economic cost data were obtained from a report from Plans and Policy entitled: "The Economic Costs of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes 1994" (DOT-HS-808-425). The latest year for cost information is 1994.
Alcohol involvement in fatal crashes is NHTSA’s estimate of fatal crashes involving either a driver or a non-occupant (pedestrian or bicyclist) with a positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .01 g/dl or greater.
Occupant restraint use rates include those from police reported restraint use in FARS and observed restraint use from surveys conducted by the states.
Speed related fatal crashes include any crashes in FARS where the police reported speed, speeding, or speed over the speed limit as a factor in the crash.
Highway safety program funds and status of key legislative issues were obtained from NHTSA’s State and Community Services concerning various grant funding to the states. The latest information is for fiscal year 1997.
The information on current lives saved from safety belt use, child safety seat use and motorcycle helmets are estimated by NHTSA’s NCSA based upon their effectiveness studies.
The following pages include a summary of this information for all 50 states and the District of Columbia in alphabetical order from Alabama to Wyoming.
State Traffic Safety Information – NHTSA – December 1997